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Published: 12 October 2018

In commenting on the text we plan to study this coming Sunday, Acts 16:25ff, Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Any fool can sing in the day.”  Admittedly, there are times when it is hard to sing.  When we are suffering, struggling, discouraged and/or sad, it’s hard to muster up a song.  Songs are easier when we’re happy, when we’re celebrating and when good things happen.  Paul and Silas had been arrested on false charges, beaten with rods and placed in maximum security with their feet in stocks.  You can read for yourself what they were doing in spite of their circumstances.  They were singing!  Thankfully we are not commanded to sing every time we suffer.  This is one of those texts that are descriptive and not prescriptive.  Dr. Luke simply wrote about what happened, he didn’t make a new law about it.  Interestingly, Paul would later write to this same group of believers, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” We can rejoice in the Lord in spite of our circumstances because He never changes.  Our circumstances change daily but the Lord, His love, His presence and His goodness NEVER change.  Nothing can separate us from His love.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He is our light and our salvation…a very present help in time of trouble.  He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies and leads us in right paths.  The benefits of being God’s child are too numerous to list here but if you are in a rough patch, it wouldn’t hurt to start a list of your own.  It may not bring about an earthquake but it will likely change your perspective.  Singin’ in the rain requires more than Sinatra like optimism; it requires confidence in our Father in the Heavens who knows our needs before we do and is present and able to do something about them.  “Rejoice in the Lord.  Always.  Again.  Again.  Again.  I will say it again so we do it again.  Rejoice in the Lord!”

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Published: 04 October 2018

The way we talk in this country sometimes, you’d think the only thing that matters is “the economy.”  The Stock Market, The Dow, The Nasdaq, Employment Numbers, GDP’s, Markets, Futures, Tariffs etc.  In our passage for Sunday, Jesus actually messed up the economy!  He put one woman out of a job and cut off a source of income for some of the men.   I think Jesus is still finding ways to mess up the economy.  It’s never our job to intentionally mess up someone else’s income but if lives are being transformed, money is going to stop flowing in the ways it once flowed.  For example, if someone becomes a follower of Jesus and they no longer frequent bars, strip clubs and casinos, some people would see that as a problem!  We’re not out to transform our culture but if people are transformed, it will affect our culture.  People who value other people and value eternal things should live and act differently once they have a new heart and a new mind.  The legalization of the recreational use of marijuana is going to be on the ballot next month.  Like the lottery, this is supposed to be good for the economy.  I think those who vote their values would beg to differ.  Just because something puts a few dollars into the pockets of Americans doesn’t make it good.  Let’s think about what we think is good and remember whose values matter most.